European Economic History

European Economic History

Economics 343:01

Fall 2010

Tuesdays/Fridays 9:50-11:10

Hardenberg A7

Professor Eugene N. White

Department of Economics

New Jersey Hall

Room 432

RutgersUniversity

732-932-7363

Office hours: Mondays 11-12 and Fridays 2-3 or by appointment

Prerequisites

Econ 320 (Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis), Econ 321 (Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis) and Econ 322(Econometrics). This is an upper level elective course where you are expected to apply the knowledge and expertise that you have gained in the prerequisites

Course Objective

This course examines long term economic growth and its determinants in Western Europe. After surveying the trends in growth, the course focuses on the agricultural and industrial revolutions, the growth and financing of government, the evolution of financial systems, the crises of the twentieth century, and the prospects for the European Union. The course objective is to provide students with an overview of Europe’s economic evolution and an analytical framework to understand its future development.

Attendance Policy and Academic Integrity

You are expected to attend every class. Attendance is highly correlated with performance on tests. Please do not arrive late to class. If you need to leave early, you must inform me and sit near the door. At the beginning of each class, we will discuss the assigned reading. You are expected to have read the material and to participate.

As always at Rutgers, you are expect to follow the University’s precepts of academic integrity.

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Course Requirements

1. Class Participation (15 percent). You are expected to come to class, having done the assigned readings. You will be asked specific questions on the readings. You must answer 5 times correctly in the course of the semester for full credit.

2. First Exam (20 percent) September 24

3. Second Exam (20 percent) November 5

4. Research Paper (25 percent) Due December 3. On October 19, you will be given a list of topics from which to choose. On October 29, you must hand in 1-2 pages stating you subject and listing your bibliography---this is worth 5 percent of the 25 percent.

5. Final Exam (20 percent), Dec 16, 12-3pm

Required Books

Books: Ordered at the Rutgers Bookstore (all paperback)

Robert C. Allen, The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective(CambridgeUniversity Press, 2009).

Barry Eichengreen, The European Economy Since 1945, Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (PrincetonUniversity Press, 2006).

Required Articles

All of these articles can be found at the University Libraries website for electronic journals,

An alternative site that does not have all articles but it is easier to use is

If the article is not available on these websites, I will post one on my website.

David Landes, “Why Are We so Rich and They So Poor?” American Economic Review (May 1990), pp. 1-13.

Donald McCloskey, “The Economics of Enclosure: A Market Analysis,” in William Parker and Eric L. Jones, European Peasants and Their Markets (Cambridge University Press, 1979), p 5-51.

Jane Humphries, “Enclosures, Common Rights and Women,” Journal of Economic History (March 1990), pp. 17-42

Phillip Hoffman, “Institutions and Agriculture in Old Regime France,” Politics and Society (1988), pp. 241-262.

Kevin O'Rourke, "The European Grain Invasion, 1870-1913," Journal of Economic History (December 1997), pp. 775-801.

Charles H. Feinstein, “Pessimism Perpetuated: Real Wages and the Standard of Living in Britain during and after the Industrial Revolution,” Journal of Economic History (September 1998), pp. 625-658.

Stephen Broadberry, “How did the United States and Germany overtake Britain? A Sectoral analysis of comparative productivity levels, 1870-1990,” Journal of Economic History 58 (1998), pp. 375-407.

Nicholas Crafts, "Forging Ahead and Falling Behind: The Rise and Relative Decline of the First Industrial Nation," Journal of Economic Perspectives12 (Spring 1998), pp. 193-210.

Caroline Fohlin, “Universal Banking in Pre-World War I Germany: Model or Myth?” Explorations in Economic History Vol. 36, (October 1999), pp. 305-343.

Douglas North and Barry Weingast, “Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth Century England” Journal of Economic History (December 1989), pp. 803-832.

Michael D. Bordo and Eugene N. White, "A Tale of Two Currencies: British and French Finance During the Napoleonic Wars," Journal of Economic History (June 1991), pp. 303-316.

Williamson, Jeffrey G. "Globalization, Labor Markets and Policy Backlash in the Past," Journal of Economic Perspectives 12 (4) (Fall 1998), pp. 51-72.

Michael Bordo, “The Classical Gold Standard: Some Lessons for Today”, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review 63 (May 1981), pp. 2-17

Tibor Balderston, “War finance and inflation in Britain and Germany, 1914-1918,” Economic History Review 2 (1989), pp. 222-224.

Barry Eichengreen, “The Origins and Nature of the Great Slump revisited,” Economic History Review (May 1992), pp. 213-239.

Mark Harrison, “Resource Mobilization for World War II: The U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R., and Germany, 1938-1945, Economic History Review, Vol. 41, No. 2 (May 1988), pp. 171-192.

Filippo Occhino, Kim Oosterlinck and Eugene N. White, “How Much Can A Victor Force the Vanquished to Pay? France under the Nazi Boot,” Journal of Economic History (March 2008), pp. 1-45.

Preliminary Class Schedule

Sept 3The Basics of Long-Run Economic Growth

Sept 7Medieval Society and Economy,Landes (1990), McCloskey (1979).

Sept 10 The Medieval Agricultural Dilemma: Humphries (1990), Hoffman (1988).

Sept 14The Great Escape from Hunger: Allen Chs. 2, 3. and 4.

Sept 17Global Agriculture: O’Rourke (1997).

Sept 21Origins of the British Industrial Revolution: Allen (2009), Chs. 1, 5, & 6.

Sept 24First Exam

Sept 28Industrialization: Technology, Allen (2009), Chs. 7, 8, and 9.

Oct 1Industrialization: the Standard of Living, Feinstein (1998).

Oct 5From Industrialization to Modern Growth: Allen (2009) Chs. 10 and 11.

Oct 8Pre-Conditions for Growth: Broadberry (1998)

Oct 12Growth in Europe 1870-1914: Crafts (1998).

Oct 15 The Rise of Industry on the Continent, Fohlin (1999).

Oct 19The Development of the State, Bordo & White (1991)Paper Topics Handed Out.

Oct 22The ModernState, North & Weingast (1989).

Oct 26 EmergingGlobal Markets, Williamson (1998)

Oct 29The Rise of Banking and Central Banking; Paper Choice and Biblio Due.

Nov 2Classical Gold Standard, Bordo (1981).

Nov 5Second Exam

Nov 9World War I, Balderston, (1989);

Nov 12 The Unstable Interwar Years

Nov 16Great Depression, Eichengreen (1992).

Nov 19War II and its Aftermath, Harrison (1988), Occhino, Oosterlinck and White(2008),

Nov 23The Beginnings of Postwar Recovery,Eichengreen (2006) Ch. 1, 2 and 3.

Nov 26Thanksgiving, No Class

Nov 30Western European Integration, Eichengreen (2006), Ch. 6

Dec 3“The Golden Age” of European Growth, Eichengreen, (2006), Chs. 4 & 7.Papers Due

Dec 7Years of Crisis, Eichengreen (2006), Chs. 8 & 9.

Dec 10The Future of Europe, Eichengreen (2006), Chs.11-13.

Dec 16FINAL EXAM, 12-3 pm

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